About two weeks had passed since Valentine’s Day—early morning.
“Good morning, Yuzuru-san.”
“Morning, Arisa.”
As usual, Arisa came to Yuzuru’s flat.
She handed him his lunch, and he returned the empty box.
Then Yuzuru shared his thoughts on her cooking, and Arisa smiled happily.
And then—
“Well then… shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
The two of them left the building together and headed for school.
“…It’s almost spring, isn’t it? Though it’s still cold.”
“Yeah. Lately it feels like spring and autumn barely exist—just summer and winter.”
“At this rate, it’s not four seasons, but two.”
Chatting about such trivial things,
Yuzuru and Arisa walked side by side.
For some time now, they had started going to school together.
Before, they had avoided it—since mornings meant more eyes from other students.
But since Valentine’s Day, things had changed.
Within the school, they were now seen as a couple.
Which, honestly, wasn’t surprising.
After all—
In the classroom, Arisa had boldly handed over what was unmistakably a honmei chocolate A chocolate given to someone you romantically like,
With an expression that practically said, “I like you”,
Then fled as if thinking, “I just confessed—how embarrassing!”
Anyone watching would naturally assume—
That Yukishiro Arisa had confessed to Takasegawa Yuzuru.
And leading up to that, the two of them had already built a foundation—
Eating lunch together with Ayaka and the others,
Spending time together,
Showing they were close.
So there was every reason to believe Yuzuru would accept her feelings.
And since their distance hadn’t changed afterwards—
No one thought she’d been rejected.
Which meant—
He had accepted her.
That was the natural conclusion.
On top of that, some students had already seen them walking home together before.
Rumours that they were “a thing” had already existed.
In other words—
The groundwork for them being seen as a couple was already there.
…Though, in truth, that groundwork had been quietly built by the two of them.
At this point, their closeness was common knowledge.
So—
There was no longer any need to avoid walking to school together.
And so, naturally, they began going together.
“…It really is cold.”
Saying that, Arisa blew warm breath into her pale hands.
…If Yuzuru remembered correctly, she did own gloves.
Yet for some reason, she wasn’t wearing them today.
With slightly flushed cheeks and moist eyes, she glanced at him.
Silently, Yuzuru removed one of his gloves.
“…Yuzuru-san?”
She tilted her head, as if to say, “Why did you take it off?”
…Yuzuru felt like teasing her a little.
“Here, you can have one.”
“…Thank you.”
That’s not what I wanted…
Yuzuru-san, you’re so dense…
That was the kind of expression she made as she accepted the glove.
She put it on the hand farther from him—
Then, very deliberately, blew on her other hand.
Shivering a little.
Very deliberately.
Holding back a laugh—barely managing a smile instead—
Yuzuru extended his bare hand.
“I’m cold too. So… could you make do with this hand?”
He opened his hand towards her.
Arisa’s emerald eyes widened.
She looked up at him, her face blooming like a flower—
And without hesitation, she took his hand.
Her hand was cold.
Yuzuru gently squeezed it.
Arisa’s face turned bright red, all the way to her ears, as she looked down.
“Th-thank you. Actually… I forgot my gloves. Sorry for the trouble.”
She spoke quickly, sneaking glances at him.
Like a pet trying to get attention—
Pretending, just a little.
It was so transparent.
And yet, she probably thought she was doing it well.
That part of her—
“Is adorable.”
“Eh? W-what are you saying all of a sudden!?”
Her voice jumped.
Apparently, he’d said it out loud.
“…Sorry.”
“…Are you teasing me?”
“Honestly, you’re awful!”
She turned away with a huff.
Putting on a show of being upset—
Yet making no attempt to let go of his hand.
Which made it obvious—
It was all an act.
(…We don’t need a ‘confession’ anymore.)
They were already lovers.
Of course, neither had clearly said “I like you.”
When she gave him the chocolate, Arisa hadn’t said “I love you” or “I like you.”
So Yuzuru had only commented on the taste—
He hadn’t given any kind of “answer.”
After all, she hadn’t asked.
But they didn’t need to ask.
They didn’t need to say it.
Their feelings were already conveyed—
Through the warmth of their hands.
Yuzuru already thought of Arisa as his girlfriend.
Even without saying it outright,
He showed it through his actions.
And Arisa did the same.
So—
A “confession” wasn’t necessary.
If anything, it might even be crude.
Of course…
Saying “I love you” or “I like you” still mattered.
But at least—
There was no need to formally say, “Let’s be a couple.”
However—
A proposal was different.
“…?”
Noticing Yuzuru had gone quiet, Arisa looked uneasy.
Forgetting her act, she kept glancing at him.
Maybe she thought she’d upset him.
But in reality—
Yuzuru had seen through her from the start.
He found it endearing, not irritating.
Her worry was unnecessary.
When Yuzuru stopped walking,
Her expression grew even more anxious.
“U-um, Yuzuru-sa—”
“It’s almost White Day.”
He cut her off.
“Y-yes!”
For some reason, she straightened her posture.
Clearly nervous.
Though—
Yuzuru’s own heart was pounding just as hard.
“I want to give you something in return for Valentine’s.”
“Yes.”
“So… after school, would you like to go on a date? There’s a restaurant with a great night view.”
At his words, Arisa gave a small nod.
“Yes… that would be fine. Um… how much does it cost?”
“I’ll cover it. Don’t worry about it.”
“Eh? N-no, but…”
“Just for that day.”
He cut her off firmly.
And gently tightened his grip on her hand.
“Will you let me show off a little?”
Silence fell between them.
His heart pounded loudly.
“…Yes.”
Arisa nodded softly.
